1. LEQ4: What are the unique qualities of Gothic Romanticism?

2. 1

3. 2

4. 3

5. 4

6. 5

7. 6

8. 7

9. 8

10. 9

11. 10

12. 11

13. “The entire surface of this metallic enclosure was rudely daubed in all the hideous and repulsive devices to which the charnel superstitions of the monks has given rise.” In his description of the walls of the torture chamber in The Pit and the Pendulum, Edgar Allan Poe uses words - such as hideous, repulsive, and charnel - that create the strange and menacing atmosphere of Gothic fiction.

14. The word Gothic, meaning medieval, was used in the 1700s to describe overly dramatic or poorly written works. Later it was used to describe a literary genre that began with Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764), set in a medieval castle complete with underground passages, trap doors, dark stairways, and mysterious rooms. Walpole's enormously popular novel began the fashion for strange tales full of weird landscapes, haunted ruins, sinister noblemen, and innocent heroines.

15. Although Gothic novels were not considered good literature, they were a big hit and the genre has thrived for centuries, influencing many American writers, from Poe to Hawthorne to H.P. Lovecraft, and Stephen King. In addition to employing exotic words such as macabre, spectral, and eldritch, Gothic horror shares several common characteristics that set it apart from other kinds of fiction:

16. 1. ~The settings are usually eerie and threatening. 2. ~The plots often involve a fair maiden who is pursued by an evil villain. 3. ~They sometimes involve encounters with otherworldly characters that defy natural laws. 4. ~Inanimate objects often take on mysterious powers. 5. ~There is an atmosphere of fear and dread that evil will prevail over good. 6. ~The main character is at risk of going mad from the extreme pressures of the threatening situation.

17. having death as a subject : comprising or including a personalized representation of death dwelling on the gruesome tending to produce horror in a beholder synonym see GHASTLY (http://www.m- w.com/dictionary/) Spectral: of, relating to, or suggesting a specter or spirit, GHOSTLY (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/) Eldritch: WEIRD, EERIE (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary)

18. –adjective 1. odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre. 2. fantastic in the shaping and combination of forms, as in decorative work combining incongruous human and animal figures with scrolls, foliage, etc. –noun 3. any grotesque object, design, person, or thing.

20. –noun 1. Fine Arts. a sinuous, spiraling, undulating, or serpentine line or linear motif. 2. a pose in ballet in which the dancer stands on one leg with one arm extended in front and the other leg and arm extended behind. 3. a short, fanciful musical piece, typically for piano. 4. any ornament or ornamental object, as a rug or mosaic, in which flowers, foliage, fruits, vases, animals, and figures are represented in a fancifully combined pattern. –adjective 5. decorated with or characterized by arabesques: arabesque design.

22. Edgar Allan Poe Nathaniel Hawthorne Washington Irving Herman Melville

23. Deeply disturbed Genius intellectually and quite artistic Lost mother, “step”-mother, first love, and wife to tuberculosis Constantly dealt with poverty Hard time keeping a job Battled with alcoholism and opium Possibly had alcohol allergy Themes dealt with the hopelessness of his life and the need to be forgiven and redeemed Dealt with the horrors of the inner mind (psychology) Created the first detective short story

24. Highly intelligent Ancestry from Puritan culture (Judge John Hathorne) Very descriptive in his writing Dealt with women’s rights (Transcendental Ideals) Explored the quest for perfection and idealism with the skepticism of such possibilities

25. Created an American cultural history Took folktales from Germany and other Old World places and set them in the Catskills of New York and surroundings Very visual horror, not psychological Some of the tales became part of the culture and history of the area, as if they were real

26. Found himself in poverty with no college education At 19 he went to sea His interest in sailors' lives grew naturally out of his own experiences, and most of his early novels grew out of his voyages Democratic experience and hatred of tyranny and injustice were common themes Celebrated nature and pastoral subversions of class-oriented, urban civilization

27. LEQ4: What are the unique qualities of Gothic Romanticism?